Nuclear Site Remediation. First Accomplishments of the Environmental Management Science Program

462 Pages·2001·52 MB·English

by  P. Gary Eller and William R. Heineman (Eds.)

ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES 778
Nuclear Site Remediation
First Accomplishments
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3.3ve William R. Heineman, EDITOR
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American Chemical Society, Washington, DC
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Nuclear site remediation : first accomplishments of the Environmental Management
Science Program / P. Gary Eller], editor, William R. Heinemann, editor.
p. cm.—(ACS symposium series ; 778)
Papers presented at a symposium held at the 218th National Meeting of the American
Chemical Society in New Orleans from Aug. 22-26, 1999"
Includes bibliographical references and index.
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4.136 mber 2 Copyright © 2001 American Chemical Society
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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
Foreword
1 HE ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES was first published in 1974 to provide a
mechanism for publishing symposia quickly in book form. The purpose
of the series is to publish timely, comprehensive books developed from
ACS sponsored symposia based on current scientific research.
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2002 book; others may be added to provide comprehensiveness. When
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4.136 mber 2 published papers are not accepted.
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In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
Preface
From 1943 until the end of the cold war in 1989, the United States and the
former Soviet Union developed massive stockpiles of nuclear weapons. Because
the development of these formidable arsenals was considered to be in the supreme
national interest of both countries and because of technological limitations, short-
term production concerns sometimes overrode long-term environmental
considerations. Both countries incurred large-scale contamination of soils, water,
air, and facilities and amassed huge quantities of wastes in currently unacceptable
forms as a result of the nuclear weapons missions. Monumental cleanup efforts in
g 1
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02 unacceptably expensive or risky at present, or simply unknown. In recognition of
20
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md for breakthrough technology that can address these difficult problems. To date
on Septe9, 2000 | almost 30B0e sccaiuesnet itfhice ininvietisatli gtahtrieoen-sy ehaarv ef ubnedeinn gf ucnydcelde ufonrd etrh eth fei rEstM gSrPo uppr oogfr aEmM. SP
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3.3ve Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Nuclear Chemistry and Technology (DNCT))
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1N proposed that it was timely and appropriate for the ACS to sponsor a symposium
d by 89.n Date: hwiagsh leingdhotirnsged t hbey stchiee nEtixfeicc uatcihviee vCeommemntist teoef othfe t hper oDgNraCmT ,t oD dr.a Mte.o rAssf theor ntohree dc ounsc bepyt
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Do Pu three plenary, tutorial, and topical scientific lectures and fifty-four posters were
presented over a period of five days. Technical sessions were organized around
the subject areas of actinide, separations, analytical, physical, materials,
geo/biochemistry, and inorganic chemistry. Five ACS Divisions as well as DOE
provided sponsorship in the form of administrative and financial support. The
outstanding response to this symposium encouraged the consideration of pub­
lishing a symposium proceedings volume. Enthusiasm among symposium partici­
pants to this idea likewise was overwhelmingly positive. To meet the ACS require­
ments for this book, we chose a limited number of presentations from the
symposium to be developed as chapters that would give broad coverage of this
subject. The volume you are now reading is the result.
Many individuals and organizations contributed to the success of this
effort. First and foremost, DOE provided the funding for each project discussed at
ix
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
the ACS symposium. DOE also provided generous financial support that allowed
a large number of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students to present
their results. The support by Mr. Mark Gilbertson (DOE Office of Environmental
Management) and Dr. Roland Hirsch (DOE Office of Science) is particularly
recognized in this regard. The DNCT provided the primary ACS sponsorship for
this symposium, with cosponsorship by the ACS Divisions of Analytical
Chemistry, Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Environmental Chemistry, Inc.,
and Physical Chemistry. These Divisions contributed both administratively and
financially. Neither the symposium nor proceedings would have occurred without
the enthusiastic support, encouragement, and guidance of Dr. Lester Morss, chair
of the DNCT. The Glenn T. Seaborg Institute branch at Los Alamos National
Laboratory graciously provided skillful administrative support by Ms. Susan
Ramsay. Similarly, Ms. Kim Carey provided essential administrative support
g 1 courtesy of the University of Cincinnati, Department of Chemistry. The successful
s.acs.or78.pr00 choavned ubcete no fp tohses isbylme wpoitshioumut tahned cpormepmairtamtioennt ooff tahlli st hpersoec epeedoipnlges. volume would not
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on Septem9, 2000 | d NLP. oGusAc RlAeYal EarL mMLEoaRs t eNraiatilos nTael cLhanboolroagtyo rDy ivision
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In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
Chapter 1
The Environmental Management Science Program:
One Facet of a Balanced Solution-Based
Investment Strategy
Gerald Boyd1, Mark Gilbertson2, Roland Hirsch3, and Arnold Gritzke2
g 1 1Office of Science and Technology, Office of Environmental Management,
or00 Department of Energy, 1000 Independence Avenue, Washington, DC 20585
12 | http://pubs.acs.1/bk-2001-0778.ch 3M2OedfiOfcicafOfeli c fSofeicf c ioeBe1f n0a oS0csfeic0 cEis e I annnDnvcdiidevre ,iopAs nDeiopmnenpdpe,le anieOnrtdactfmf leRi c eMAeens vaetoe anofn rafBuc gEehieo,nm,l oWeOgerfnigafcytisac,h, le D iG naoeengfprt dmaoS rncEati,menn DntvoeciCnrweo tn na2 o,nm0 f5dM eE8 nTDn5teae crl2h g0Ryn5,eo8 sl5oeag ryc, h,
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4.136 mber 2 DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is
3.3ve engaged in the cleanup of the facilities used in nuclear
6o materials production. The science and technology to support
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implementing long-term stewardship. At the same time,
Congress mandated development of a basic science program.
2 © 2001 American Chemical Society
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
3
Introduction
The DOE's Office of Environmental Management (EM) is now engaged in
the cleanup of the facilities used in over fifty years of nuclear materials
production. EM was established with the mission of cleaning up the legacy of
environmental pollution at DOE weapons complex facilities, preventing further
environmental contamination, and instituting responsible environmental
management. However, a coordinated effort in the conduct of scientific research
and technology development to support many aspects of this mission did not
exist. To address this need for effective and affordable solutions to the daunting
environmental problems it faced, EM formed the Office of Science and
org 001 Technology (OST) to conduct a national basic scientific and technology
cs.ch research, development and deployment program. OST's mission is to ensure the
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20
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on Septe9, 2000 | rwéeéavpaolunast icoonm wpalse xA cwcoeluelrda ttiankge Covleearn 3u0p : yPeaarths s toto aCccloosmurpel,i s(h1.) T whhei crhe saurltt icoufl athteids
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3.3ve term stewardship program to address the complicated and intractable
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y at a path forward, which allowed major cleanup activities to be completed in the
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Do Pu for the required science and technology to be developed and tested.
At the same time, Congress mandated the establishment of an
environmental science program within EM, (2) to be managed in collaboration
with the DOE Office of Science and the Idaho Operations Office. The objective
of this program is to focus the nation's scientific research infrastructure on EM's
science needs in order to provide technical scientific underpinnings for the long-
term cleanup effort. The first of the Environmental Management Science
Program Projects (EMSP) have just completed their initial 3-year grants.
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
4
EM's Environmental Management Problem
EM is engaged in the cleanup of the radioactive, hazardous, and mixed
wastes left from over 50 years of U.S. nuclear weapons production. These
materials are in a variety of forms (e.g., stored as waste in tanks and drums,
disposed in landfills and trenches, released to the surface, contaminants in
buildings and other structures, and as contaminants in soils and groundwater.)
To assess the magnitude of the problem and to coordinate the cleanup effort
DOE has organized the cleanup by problem areas.
g 1 Total life-cycle costs for the cleanup are estimated to be approximately
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cs.ch $147 billion from 1997 to 2070. This currently represents the largest cleanup
12 | http://pubs.a1/bk-2001-0778. Heffigorht Line vtheel Wwoarsltde.
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md DOE complex, over 335 underground storage tanks have been used to process
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3.3ve been treated and/or disposed of in final form. Most of the waste is alkaline and
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y at hydrated metal oxides, phosphate precipitates, and ferrocyanides along with a
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Mixed Waste
An estimate of the inventory of mixed waste inventory shows
approximately 167,000 cubic meters of over 1,400 different types of mixed
waste located at 38 sites in 19 states (3). This inventory, however, is increasing
with newly generated waste resulting from ongoing processes and
environmental restoration, facility decontamination, and facility transition
activities. After appropriate treatment, much of this waste is expected to be
placed in the Waste Isolation Pilot Project facility (WIPP). The first shipments
of TRU have already been sent to WIPP. However, challenges in
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.
5
characterization, separations and stabilization still exist before all of the mixed
waste can be disposed.
Deactivation and Decontamination
DOE is addressing the problem of deactivation transformation of over
7,000 buildings and decommissioning over 900 buildings and their contents.
This represents more than 6 million square meters of buildings containing
contaminated concrete, equipment, machinery, and pipes (3). Therefore,
substantial quantities of metal and concrete must be decontaminated and nearly
200,000 tons of scrap metal must be disposed. Deactivation and
g 1 Decommissioning activities across the complex will likely require decades to
cs.orch00 complete. Research is needed to develop or improve methods for the
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y at risks, long remediation schedules, or production of secondary wastes. Research
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Nuclear Materials
Certain nuclear materials, such as plutonium, can be dangerous even in
extremely small quantities, particularly if ingested or inhaled. In addition, finely
divided plutonium dust may spontaneously ignite when exposed to air above
certain temperatures. Extreme precautions are required in storing, handling, and
transporting such materials. DOE's plutonium and other nuclear materials exist
in a variety of forms — from acid solutions, to rough pieces of metal, to nearly
finished weapons parts (3). In addition, unknown amounts of plutonium have
collected on the surfaces of ventilation ducts, air filters, and gloveboxes at some
DOE facilities. Metal and chemical wastes containing nuclear materials typically
are stored in drums and monitored, pending ultimate disposition.
In Nuclear Site Remediation; Eller, P., et al.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2000.